The Last Return

Starts out as pretty broad comedy but suddenly the absurd becomes extremely dark. Important social and political messages. But the plot line is full of flaws.

The female lead was excellent and had a great script to work with… for the first 40 minutes.
The last part of the play was a bit like something a 6th form group put together if they’ve been asked to choose 3 random cards with things to include in their play. The ending was saccharine and disconnected. It seemed to follow a pattern at the fringe of touching on very important, sensitive topics in a careless and tokenistic way.

This is the worst piece of theatre I have seen in a very long time and I’ve been working in theatre for 20 years. Saw a lot of excellent shows at the fringe this year and expected this to be one of them, as it was playing at the Traverse and twice the price of most, but it was far from excellent. The premise is an interesting one but it’s delivery was so incredibly clumsy and cringeworthy that, if I hadn’t been sitting in the middle of a row, I would have left within 20 minutes. I’m not sure why this has received good reviews, I can only assume that the critics are either people who think bad farce circa 1960 is good theatre or didn’t actually see this show! I would save your money and go and see something else.

Some of the acting was good, and the set was great, but the message at the end was clumsily written and seemed more to box-tick than anything else. The show did not warrant such a large corporate venue, which gave it a commercial rather than a "Fringe" feel. One star.

I've seen a lot of theatre this fringe but The Last Return might just be the best one. Made me both laugh out loud and tear up, 5*

A very mixed bag this one. The actors performed brilliantly, but the play itself is weird, rushed, and fails to make any point strongly enough. The comedy of it is at times very forced, especially at the beginning (‘are you absolutely sure it’s sold out?…. Completely absolutely sure?…’ ; not the best joke of the night). It does get better later on, but then things become very predictable… the farce of it all is obvious and predictable, yet not that funny… And then things are not predictable. Instead, they become downright ridiculous, and the plot stretches plausibility like a fat man jumping on a trampoline. Suddenly we have an American soldier catapulted in, claiming to need to see this show to cure his PTSD, then snipers kill a university professor through a glass ceiling, a woman poisons other theatre goers, and a ticket sales lady takes a machine gun from under the desk. I mean… it’s the whole kitchen sink in an unnecessary grotesque way, and it makes very little sense, while not being terribly funny or artistic. It’s not Eugen Ionesco, it’s just a whole bunch of stuff thrown at the audience illogically. And then we get a political message. Noble as the message itself may be, it’s just thrown in, like yet another spice on an already weirdly tasting dish. It’s trying to touch the audience, but it makes no impact whatsoever because it’s rushed in the last 10 minutes or so, simply appliquéd onto a play that’s convoluted and confused. Like someone else mentioned, it very much feels like it’s trying to tick a lot of boxes in 80-85 minutes. Fine performances from the actors, they really managed to save it at times, but this is a weak and disorientating script. I’m not sure I’ll rush to see it again.

Absolutely brilliant - must be seen.
Acting superb, play superb, setting superb and directing superb.
5 star

Simple farce 1*

It was rather appropriate that it was sold out the night we saw it. But the five best seats in the house were empty, presumably reserved for critics. It made you wonder what the critics would make of something so alien to them? It’s an enjoyable show – a bit Martin McDonagh meets Alan Bennett, but at times it feels as if it was deliberately ticking boxes to win itself a fringe first. I wished they’d cut the last minute, as the ending felt too clean. Fun, but probably ephemeral.

I'm in a minority of one, but I hated this. It's sub-par Dario Fo absurdist comedy. It's all deeply obvious; even the tacked on happy ending. I found it irritating and tedious.

This was excellent. What a wonderful end to our day. The actors performed this so well. It was funny and dark at the same time. Go see it you will not be disappointed

As expected from the Travers, what you see is not what you expect in the most positive way. Good show, great acting! There was no need to get grotesque. Strong political message. 3.5/5

Enjoyed the show. Well-acted. The dialogue was particularly clear and I could hear every word without straining.

A highly pointed and brilliantly witty new play done full justice by the cast. ****